Crossroads
by DragonMistressOfRedemption888
Summary: The paths of an eleven year old girl and a middle-aged man cross, changing both of their lives forever.
1. Chapter 1

A blonde-haired aristocrat was walking proudly down the streets of the magical village, Diagon Alley; which was located, beneath powerful wards, in the heart of London.

Suddenly, he saw something that caused him to stop: a little girl, looking no older than eleven, was huddled next to an empty shop with a broken cauldron in her hands and scattered books around her; she was weeping.

At this sight, his heart immediately broke. "Hey, little one," he called, "need help?" The girl looked up, her eyes met his; they were a lovely warm-brown, matched wonderfully by her brunette curls. She nodded her pretty little head once and he removed his wand from his cane.

"REPARO!" he intoned. Her cauldron was immediately mended; good as new. With that, he waved his wand, and the books surrounding the girl floated neatly into her newly-mended cauldron.

"Where are your parents?" he asked the girl, who immediately broke down. Desperate to comfort the poor girl, he scooped her into his arms, hugging her.

"They left me!" she said, "When the Deputy Headmistress came and convinced them that my Hogwarts letter was real, they decided that they wanted nothing to do with me. They only gave me just enough to buy my supplies and took me to the Leaky Cauldron. Then, they told me quite plainly that they never wanted to see me again!" She broke down again in sobs.

"Shh!" he whispered, patting the girl on the back, "I, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy, swear on my magic and life that I will take care of you. I will take you in as my own and you will never want for anything! So I say, so mote it be!"

"Malfoy, that's the blonde twit who broke my cauldron. Said something about how 'mudbloods' like me shouldn't be allowed to learn magic," the girl said sniffling. Lucius' eyes flashed in anger.

"That bloody boy knows better!" he growled, "don't worry, Draco will be severely punished!"

"That actually makes me feel much better. If I were to believe him, I'd say that his behavior was encouraged!" she exclaimed. Lucius bit back another growl. He couldn't believe that Draco would be such a disgrace to the name of Malfoy. To insinuate that such behavior was what his family encouraged was so far bellow the belt that he probably couldn't even see it. That kid was in for some serious punishment. Magical parenting one oh one had absolutely denounced transfiguration as a punishment, but Lucius was beginning to imagine what his son would look like as a little white ferret.

"By the way, Lucius, my name is Hermione," the girl added, "Hermione Granger."

"Not anymore it isn't," Lucius growled, "I will not have you walking around with the name your disgrace of a family gave you. Hmm, what would you say to Narcissa; that's my wife's name and it fits you perfectly. A lovely name for a lovely girl." Hermione blushed.

"I love it, but wouldn't that make things too confusing with two Narcissa's around?" Hermione asked.

"Nonsense, in the wizarding world, many people in close nuclear families share the same name. It's settled, your name will be Narcissa Victoria Malfoy, so mote it be," Lucius declared.

"So mote it be," Hermione, no, Narcissa, found herself saying, she then hugged Lucius tightly. "We just met, and I already love you very much, Lucius Malfoy," she said softly, "you must be a very great man. Everyone who has ever met you is lucky to know you." Lucius' face darkened, remembering some of the people who hadn't been so lucky to know him due to his youthful mistakes. Then it brightened, as he remembered the risks he took to atone for his sins; they were all worth it in the end.

"Yes, well, lets go shopping. I need to get you quality clothes if you're going to be seen in public as a Malfoy. I'm also going to have to get you a proper custom wand. What do you say to a sharp diamond wand that doubles as a rapier?"

"I've always believed that diamonds are a girl's best friend," Narcissa shrugged. Lucius beamed at her. Since she was already in his arms, and as light as a feather, Lucius carried his new charge to a shop in Knockturne Alley called _Proper Wizarding Wear_. Once in the store, Lucius set Narcissa down on her feet.

"Hey, Edgecombe, get this girl the full Malfoy do-over, stat!" Lucius ordered. A woman who appeared to be in her late twenties appeared. As soon as she took stock of the girl, she got out her measuring equiptment.

After what seemed like hours of measuring, the woman left to the back room. Later, she came back into the room with what was a full wardrobe for Narcissa. The girl in question was squeeling over the new clothes. After the garments were all shrunk and safely in Lucius' pocket, said wizard grabbed his young charge's hand and led her to the next stop on their shopping trip: the shop where custom wands were made.

Once inside, Lucius called to the shop owner. A burly looking man with a well-kept brown beard and a twinkle in his eye came out from behind a counter almost taller than he was.

"Hey Lucius, I see you've brought me a youngin' to corrupt," the man said with a laugh, "what can I do you fer?"

"Well, this is my daughter, Narcissa Victoria Malfoy," Lucius said, "She's going to need a special one. A sharp diamond one that doubles as a rapier. Preferably red diamond so that it doesn't show blood."

"I can do that easy, Mr Malfoy," the wand crafter said, "now reach into this bag and let the core choose ya." He held out a bag. Narcissa placed her hand into the bag, careful not to peak, and soon felt something catch on her hand. She pulled it out.

"Basilisk skin and dragon scale, intertwined. How interesting!" the wand crafter commented, "We can expect great things from ya, Ms. Malfoy! I'll have 'er done in a jiffy!" He left the room with haste.

Later, the man came back and handed a sharp 17 inch diamond wand to Narcissa. Red, of course.

"Now I can learn how to stab people in the back even before I learn to hex them properly!" Narcissa said cheerfully, "not that I really want to stab anyone in the back, other than two people I refuse to mention by name!"

On the way out of the shop, Narcissa stopped Lucius and whispered, "you called me your daughter. I only wish it were truly so, by blood. Do you think we can get the goblins to perform a blood adoption, I read about it; it was mentioned briefly that only goblins are allowed to perform blood magic, including blood adoption."

"Goblins will do anything for the right price," Lucius smirked, "and I have more than enough to pay them."

"Dobby," Lucius called. The petite house elf of Malfoy Manor popped in at his master's call.

"Yes, Master, what can Dobby do for you?" Dobby asked.

"Take us to Gringotts, avoid the reporters and gossipers," Lucius ordered. Dobby complied, taking both of their hands and popping them to the inside of Gringotts' lobby.

"SharpDeath!" Lucius called his family's account manager. SharpDeath, the manager for the Malfoy vaults and investments, walked up to Lucius.

"What do you need, Malfoy, that couldn't wait until I was done updating your investment portfolio," SharpDeath asked.

"A blood adoption," Lucius answered.

"You know the cost," SharpDeath stated. Lucius nodded.

"Then the girl will be yours by blood in a few minutes," SharpDeath told him, then called for some Goblin named BloodChill.

Bloodchill came in, and after a few minutes of pouring blood from both parties into putrid potions while chanting in Gobbledegook, BloodChill declared the blood adoption complete. Both a little sick from seeing their blood mixed in Merlin-knew-what, Lucius Abraxas Malfoy and Narcissa Victoria Malfoy left Gringotts and headed back to Knockturne Alley where Lucius replaced the rest of her mediocre supplies with top notch brands. He also bought her the "Malfoy Special" at Obscurus Books, which made her day, as she absolutely loved books.

Lucius then had her dress at the Leaky Cauldron, where she put on a set of fashionably-cut black silk robes over an silver-laced emerald skirt and a matching blouse. She strapped her rapier wand's sheath to her hip and drew it. Then, after tracing the entire weapon with her marveling eyes, she sheathed it.

She then left the room she was changing in to find Lucius at the counter having a conversation with the bartender, Tom. She tapped his shoulder and he turned around, his eyes lighting up as he took in her new look.

"You look wonderful, darling!" Lucius exclaimed, "Now we can go look for your pet and broomstick. I know the rules say first years aren't allowed to have brooms, but I am on the board of governors, so I'll be able to pull a few strings." That said, they quickly left the Leaky Cauldron and headed for the more exclusive of the two Quidditch supply shops in Diagon Alley.

While looking, they noticed many models not commonly mentioned in magical Britain. The American Ford company, for example, apparently makes broomsticks as well as Muggle vehicles.

The Ford Fusion-bolt outclassed even the latest Nimbus!

The Fusion-bolt turned out to be just what the doctor ordered for the newest Malfoy, she loved it. Even though her initial fear of leaving the ground had made her wary of broom travel, it seemed all she needed was something that was built Ford tough!

Lucius wanted a new broom himself, so he bought the latest John Deer and learned that absolutely NOTHING runs like a deer!

After that, they headed to the Magical Menagerie. After searching through the available animals, Narcissa chose two animals. A black kneazel and a King Cobra. Both would be excellent guard animals and, in general, very lovely pets.

After that, they left Diagon Alley and Lucius apparated them to Malfoy Manor.

Narcissa Victoria Malfoy, formerly known as Hermione Jean Granger, steeled herself, preparing to face the music.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N

Alexandra: I don't care what you say, Lucius. The fact that you named Hermione after Narcissa is going to make this as confusing as hell!

Lucius: Not if I call her Princess, it won't be.

Alexandra: I meant confusing for me as the author portraying her, not you as her adoptive father.

Lucius: Oh. Just refer to her as Narcissa II, young Narcissa, or Narcissa Victoria. It will not be forever. Any confusion will be gone once my little princess gets to Hogwarts.

Alexandra: Thank God for that!

Lucius: Don't you mean, thank Merlin?

Alexandra: No.

**888**

When Lucius and Narcissa Victoria Malfoy appeared in a room with a desk, a bookshelf, and two of the most comfy-looking chairs you can sat down.

"Ah, father, you're back!" Came a voice, followed by a blonde-haired boy who ran into the room and hugged his father. He then noticed the girl sitting in the other chair.

"Who's this?" Draco asked, not recognizing the girl, as her appearance had changed greatly.

"That's a long story," Lucius began, it will be best if I give you the memory to view." Lucius used his wand to copy the memory and he placed it in a vial, which he handed to his son.

Draco walked over to the family penseive, which the girl hadn't noticed before. He poured the memory into the basin and stuck his head in.

After viewing the memory, Draco looked as Lucius had hoped – completely terrified.

"I'm sorry father, I won't do it again, please don't turn me into a ferret, I don't wanna be a ferret, I only did it because Pansy dared me to, , she told me that it is something you would have done..."

"Calm down, my son. Breathe. As much as I hate to admit it, it is something I would have done – and have done many times – when I was your age. That does not make it right, or something I condone from my own flesh and blood. I know that I added the adoption ceremony and her appearance change to that memory, so go to your sister and apologize to her. It is her forgiveness that you need. At this point, I leave your fate to her. The family healer can fix anything short of death, so I will not allow her to kill you, but making you wish that you were dead is something that I will allow, as many times as will make her happy.

Draco ran over to his sister and got down on his knees.

"Please, forgive me, sister. I only wished to be more like my father, and to impress Pansy. Now I wish that Pansy and I had never met. Please don't be mad at me anymore. Though I deserve it. Father never exaggerates. At this point, you could all but kill me. If you asked, Father would disown me. Believe me, I am so thankful to whatever God brought my father to you. Even if it means trouble for me, it would be even worse if, years down the road, I discovered that I had become something that my father hates. My father's opinion means the world to me. Family means the world to me. All I want to do now is hug and comfort you like a brother should. Please." He stood up, opened his arms and prepared for the slap in the face that he, pessimistically, thought would come.

Instead, she leaped into his arms and hugged him fiercely. She to, thought the world of family. That is why it hurt so much when her birth parents had wanted nothing to do with her. Now that she had a brother for the first time in her life, she did the only thing that seemed sensible to her. She not only forgave him, but she put him into that special place in her heart where family resided.

After they separated, Draco ran to get his mother. Five minutes later, Draco entered the room with a blonde woman in tow.

Draco told his mother to look into the pensieve.

As her new mother dipped her head into the pensieve, one thought permeated her mind: _Will she like me?_

**888**

AN

Alexandra: Another cliffie, I am so evil. Mwah-ha-ha-ha-ha!

Narcissa Victoria: Tell me about it! I just want to know if my new mother will like me.

Alexandra: I'll get to writing it eventually. You can just pray that enough people read and review to make it worth my while.

Draco: Pleeeeeeeaaaaaaaaze!

Narcissa/Alexandra: I/She already forgave you!

Draco: I know that, I just want to know if mother likes my new sister.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN**

**Keep in mind that this story is AU. Therefore, I am not bound by silly things like cannon-compliance.**

888

Out of the ways that one would expect Lady Malfoy to react to the news, very few would accurately describe her actual reaction.

It is the sign of adulthood to hold two seemingly-conflicting beliefs.

On one hand, she was beyond vexed with Draco's behavior. She had, after all, raised him better than that. She also was overjoyed to have a daughter. Ever since the healer who delivered Draco informed her that she would not be able to have another child, Lady Malfoy fought off depression by spending every waking hour spoiling said boy. Now that she suddenly had a daughter to dote on, she had hope for a brighter future.

On the other hand, she was completely pissed at Lucius for bringing an unknown into their household without so much as a "by your leave". Not that she was complaining about having a bigger family. She just would have liked to have been informed BEFORE the adoption so that she could have prepared better.

So, as soon as she finished viewing the memory, she stood up and looked at her family. She looked at Lucius first.

"Lucius, I am disappointed in you for not giving me proper warning. You are sleeping in one of the guest rooms tonight; or the couch, if you would prefer," she informed him regally.

She turned to Draco.

"Draco, I am very disappointed in your actions. You will be required to carry the bags on every shopping trip, that a lady of this house goes on, for the rest of the summer." This news caused Draco to groan. Oh, how he hated carrying the bags for female shoppers. Not that he was a wimp, Draco just didn't fancy breaking his back or pulling a muscle. Besides, he couldn't perform a proper levitation charm yet like his parents would do.

She finally turned to her newest child, her namesake, Narcissa Victoria Malfoy. Now, that would be confusing. She would have to come up with a nickname for the girl. Men like Lucius just don't comprehend how confusing having two people with the same first name in the same house could be.

"Come here, dear, and give your new mum a hug," wrapping the girl in her arms, she whispered, "This is going to be way too confusing for us both to be called Narcissa. Is it alright if I give you a nickname?" Hugging her new mother back, the girl nodded.

"How is … Nicci?" Back when she was still hoping for a daughter, Lady Malfoy had decided that she would name her daughter after the Grand Sorceress of Legend: Nicci.

"I love it!" 'Nicci' whispered, "Can we talk in private and get to know each other?"

Narcissa nodded at Nicci and ushered Lucius and Draco out of the study.

"Mum," Nicci began, "is there anything that I will need to know about being a Malfoy that Father may have neglected to mention?"

"Did he mention that as a witch from a conservative pure-blood family, you will be expected to be put into a marriage contract with someone from another pure-blood family? Thought he'd forget. This is purely to protect your virtue, as there are many dark rituals out there requiring a witch's virginity as a sacrifice, as well as many young dark wizards who would have no qualms with doing such to an unclaimed virgin. Now, if I may, what is your orientation? I will need to know so that I can send feelers out to get you a contract in a month at the latest," Narcissa explained.

After getting through the shock, Nicci sighed. She hadn't even had the guts to tell her former parents that she was a girl's girl (or was it witch's witch?) for fear of being rejected by her family. Now, however, she would have to trust Narcissa. Nicci would never allow a man to touch her, so there was no hiding it.

"I am a witch's witch, mum," Nicci said, forcing confidence into her tone. Narcissa simply nodded. Such things were not nearly as surprising in the wizarding world as the Muggle one. The Muggles' irrational fear of abnormal sexuality was in fact one of the reasons that many magicals despised the Muggle world.

"If I may," Nicci continued, "Father did tell me about the better pure-blood families. If I remembered correctly: Lord Greengrass has two daughters, Lord Davis has a daughter, Lord Abbot has a daughter, Lord Patil has two daughters, and Lady Bones has a niece. If I am correct, then those are my only options if I wish to avoid marrying down, which didn't sound too good the way father said it."

"Good," Narcissa said, "You remembered what was probably the most important lecture Lucius gave you. Now, I will be sending feelers out. You can go play Quidditch or something with Draco. I will inform you when we have success. Now, do you wish for an active marriage contract that will require immediate consummation or an inactive one that will become active when you reach majority?"

"If it is possible, I would like it to be active. Getting an anxiety-inducing activity over with gives one much less overall stress, I've heard a psychologist mention," Nicci replied. At the nod from Narcissa, she left the room.


	4. Chapter 4

_ Last time: "Good," Narcissa said, "You remembered what was probably the most important lecture Lucius gave you. Now, I will be sending feelers out. You can go play Quidditch or something with Draco. I will inform you when we have success. Now, do you wish for an active marriage contract that will require immediate consummation or an inactive one that will become active when you reach majority?"_

_ "If it is possible, I would like it to be active. Getting an anxiety-inducing activity over with gives one much less overall stress, I've heard a psychologist mention," Nicci replied. At the nod from Narcissa, she left the room._

Narcissa drew her wand and tapped the desk in the study, muttering "I solemnly swear that my blood is pure." A hidden drawer popped out

Abraxas Malfoy had set the password for the compartment, and Lucius feared his father too much to change it. Even though Abraxas was dead, his dark enchantments were legendary for their permanence and their safeguards. Narcissa was here for the protean-charmed signet ring that sat in the drawer. Lucius never wore it. Instead, he wore a modernized replica, as most heads of the Elder houses did. Narcissa wore it on occasion, whensoever she needed it.

After putting on the ring, she took out a blood quill, charmed to blacken the blood so that Muggles wouldn't notice the difference, and a roll of parchment. She then began writing:

_Dear: Lord Cyrus Greengrass_

_ As the Matriarch of the Elder House of Malfoy, and as your friend, I beseech you for help. My eleven-year old daughter, Narcissa 'Nicci' Victoria Malfoy, needs a marriage contract. I cannot very well send her into Hogwarts, and most likely into the Snake Pit, without one. She needs a young witch in one of the Elder Houses, as marrying down would not do, and she finds herself repulsed by the notion of any man touching her. That is understandable, witch's witches generally are. I don't see a problem in her finding a wife, since most witches are at least bisexual. I am, for one. I know that your wife is. I don't know about the next generation, but if either of your daughters are interested then let me know. If not, I beseech you to head out in my stead to find one for her, as I am currently fairly busy._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Narcissa Malfoy Ne__é__ Black_

Narcissa rolled up the parchment and tied it to the family owl's leg with a cutting of the enchanted ribbon that was in the drawer. _There, even if we weren't best friends since we were in our nappies, Lord Greengrass would still be unable to ignore this,_ Narcissa thought with satisfaction. Of course, Cyrus and Narcissa _had_ been best friends for that long.

She knew that Cyrus would come through for her, one way or another. He always had. He was like the brother she never had.

Besides, these contracts were just a formal protection. It would be as easy as cauldron cakes for someone in an Elder House to get out of one if he or she was ever not satisfied with their future partner.

For now, however, she disapparated. She would have to set up a vault for her daughter at Gringotts, go shopping for the essentials, and go to the ministry to get Narcissa 'Nicci' Victoria Malfoy on the list of people not to mess with. In most cases, the Malfoy name would be enough, but there were some practices that had been outlawed for commoners so long that most people in the ministry forgot that they were legal at all! An innocent Auror could loose his or her job that way by just trying to uphold the law!

**888**

Draco took Nicci to the Quidditch pitch after she had retrieved her fusion-bolt from her trunk. She had read an entire series of books on broom-flying and was confident that she could teach a class on it, even though she herself had never been on broom before the testing in the shop. To be contrary, she ignored the typical racing style and chose the atypical style that happened to have been invented by Byron Malfoy in the early twentieth century. The grip was the most physically lax of any, but the most mentally taxing. It would take most of her focus not to lose control of the broom, at least until she got the hang of it.

Draco and Nicci raced around the Quidditch pitch, making a combination out of who could pull off the most bizarre moves. Nicci was the first to pull off the Wronski Feint, but Draco managed it just after she did. Needing something different, she went for a more obscure trick, invented by former Gryffindor chaser, James Potter, called the Thunderbolt.

The Thunderbolt was a dare devil move where the rider would grip both ends of the broom and kick their legs out, pulling the broom in a sweeping motion downward, only re-mounting their broom the moment before they would have hit the ground.

After seeing his sister perform the Thunderbolt, Draco shook his head. There was no way that he was going to top THAT, or even match it, without getting himself killed. Nodding towards Nicci, he took off back towards the Manor, landing on the main balcony. As soon as he heard his sister land behind him, Draco walked into the manor and chucked the Nimbus he was using into the broom-closet.

**888-time skip-888**

Lucius was in his study reading the small pile of marriage contracts that his wife had used her connection with Cyrus to procure for their young daughter.

_Suzan Bones_

_Heir of the Elder House of Bones_

_Connections: Amelia Bones- director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, through blood_

_Lord Abbott – Head of the Elder House of Abbot, through pact between houses_

_Likely House: Hufflepuff_

_Age: 11_

_Bride Price: a half million galleons_

_Contract Activation requirements: signed by the heads of both houses_

_Tracey Davis_

_Heir of the Elder House of Davis_

_Connections: Lord Davis – Head of the Elder House of Davis, through blood_

_Lord Greengrass – Head of the Elder House of Greengrass, through pact between houses_

_Likely House: Slytherin_

_Age: 11_

_Bride Price: a million galleons_

_Contract Activation requirements: signed by both parties and consummated_

_Ginevra Molly Weasley_

_Daughter of the Disgraced yet Elder House of Weasley_

_Connections: Lord Weasley – Head of the Disgraced yet Elder House of Weasley, Head of the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts – through blood_

_Lord Diggory – Head of the Elder House of Diggory, Department head at the ministry – through pact between houses_

_Lord Lovegood – Head of the Disgraced yet Elder House of Lovegood, Chief Editor of The Quibbler – through pact between houses_

_Lord Dumbledore – Head of the Elder and Mystical House of Dumbledore, Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot, Supreme Mugwump of the ICW, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Order of Merlin First Class – through alliance_

_Likely House: Gryffindor_

_Contract Activation Reguirements: none, this is an active contract by order of the Chief Warlock_

Lucius stared at the last contract. His first thought was to murder the meddling old fool that ordered the contract to be active. Then he took a deep breath and began to look at it objectively.

Point one: the rift between the Malfoy's and the Weasley's was still very much a problem, despite all of Lucius' efforts to mend it.

Point two: The Weasley girl's connections were nearly unprecedented for a marriage contract. The average person only made the effort to call in one contact other than their Head of House.

Point three: The Weasley girl had no bride-price. Of course, he'd still be obligated by ancient laws to pay a minimum of 50k galleons to her family, but it was negligible compared to the regular pure-blood premiums.

All-in all, Lucius just decided to sign the contract to save face. It would not be immediately evident that the situation was forced. Taking out a blood-quill, he signed the contract stating that Narcissa 'Nicci' Victoria Malfoy was now betrothed to Ginevra Molly Weasley

**888**

**A/N**

** Yes, I decided for Nicci/Ginny. It will be key to mending the broken relations between the House of Malfoy and the House of Weasley.**

** Hee, hee, hee! Even though Dumbledore is not evil in this fic, he is still up to his old manipulations. He is hoping to bring the Malfoy family over to the light, while in reality, his actions will make the Weasley family more grey.**


End file.
